CORWEN
is a centre for the railway system of Wales, but possesses no special attractions, unless the mark of Owen Glendower's dagger upon the lintel of the south door of the church, inflicted, so it is said, when in a pet, be deemed one, though probably the tradition had its origin in the dagger carved on the shaft of an eighth-century cross in the same churchyard. The summit of the rock behind the town, whereon stands a cairn, was the point whence Glendower reviewed his troops previous to the Battle of Shrewsbury. The short climb is rewarded by a pleasing view.
LLANGOLLEN
is reached by a part of the Telford-Holyhead road, which is generally in magnificent condition. Pretty views of the Dee, the Berwyn Mountains on the right, the Llantysilio Mountains on the left, and the Eglwyseg rocks in front, are obtained, and the most beautiful part of the hill country of Wales, as contrasted with the mountain scenery, is presented to the eye. The loveliest views are those lying round the town, rivalling in beauty, and perhaps surpassing, any found elsewhere in Britain. The Bridge is one of the "Wonders of Wales," dating from 1345, and Plas Newydd, lying about half a mile from the bridge, the residence of the famed ladies of Llangollen, should on no account be missed. The romance of their lives is too lengthy for inclusion here, but may be readily learnt on the spot. The house is an aggregation of carved oak within and without. No one should visit Llangollen without ascending Castell Dinas Brân, which towers to a height of 1,000 feet above the village. The origin of the quaint ruins upon the summit is lost in antiquity, but is attributed to one of the early Princes of Powis. The tide of war has raged scores of times round the hoary fragments upon the crest, which look like the eyrie of a robber baron or the fantastic imaginings of a Doré. When the castle emerges into the light of history we find that Griffith, the son of Madoc, occupied it in the thirteenth century, and that about a hundred years afterwards it fell into ruin.
Valle Crucis Abbey: Ground Plan.
VALLE CRUCIS ABBEY
(admission 6d.) lies two miles by road from Llangollen. Founded by the above-named Griffith in A.D. 1200, it is necessarily in the Early English style, and dog-tooth ornamentation may be discovered in the west end. The beautiful ruin appeals to artist and antiquary alike, and is considered the most picturesque in Wales. A little way off to the north is Eliseg's Pillar, a most astonishing early monument put up by Concenn ap Cadell ap Brochmail to the memory of his great-grandfather, Eliseg, who lived as far back as the beginning of the seventh century. It is no longer possible to read the Latin inscription giving these facts, and the remarkable monument itself has suffered much mutilation. Llangollen is a town in which a week can be spent with profit and pleasure, so numerous are the places of interest in the immediate neighbourhood. The fine escarpment of the limestone rocks, the Eglwyseg, lying above the village, are conspicuous on the left for some distance on leaving for Ruabon through the Vale of Llangollen, where the famed Wynnstay Park is situated, the residence of Sir H. Watkin Williams-Wynn, Bart. The house is not on view, but admission to the park is freely given by application at the lodge gates, close to the town. The associations of the park are, however, the chief point in connection with it, for the Wynns go back into remote antiquity, and the history of North Wales and the members of this family are inseparable. The pillar standing above the swiftly rushing Dee is a cenotaph perpetuating the names of those who fell in the Irish rebellion of '98, when a Wynn took his company of yeomanry over the water to help in the suppression.